JP3297081B2 - Empty can supply / discharge device to empty can automatic inspection equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an empty can (DI can) formed by drawing and ironing, in which a can to be inspected is taken out of its storage part, and is placed opposite to the storage part. The present invention relates to an empty can supply / discharge device for supplying a predetermined automatic inspection device disposed between the empty can discharge portion and an inspected can to the discharge portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A can formed by drawing and ironing includes a trim can having an open end which is straight,
There is a flange can having a flange portion at the open end. Each of the flange cans is subjected to a predetermined inspection by an inspection device arranged between the can storage portion and the can discharge portion, and the quality is determined.

The inspection items include, for example, the wall thickness of the can body, the trim height, the bottom depth of the trim can, the flange height, the flange width, the bottom pressure resistance of the can, and the buckling strength of both. Yes, they are inspected by their respective inspection devices, but initially, the supply and discharge of cans to be inspected to and from each inspection device were performed manually. Therefore, a large number of inspectors are required to perform a plurality of inspections at the same time. On the other hand, if a series of inspections is performed with a limited number of people, it takes a long time to complete the inspections.

[0004] Therefore, it is required to automate the inspection work and to enable the inspection in a short time, and an example of an apparatus for that purpose is disclosed in JP-A-64-32110.

This device automatically measures the trim height, wall thickness, and bottom depth of a trim can. A trim can storage portion and three inspection devices are provided so as to surround a robot hand. In addition, more specifically, a trim height measuring unit that measures the can height by contacting the measuring element with the upper edge of the side plate of the can while rotating the can on the turntable, and sandwiching the side plate while rotating the can A thickness measuring unit for measuring a wall thickness, a bottom depth measuring unit for inserting a measuring element into a recess formed in the bottom of the can to measure the depth, and a type (can diameter, can Storage unit to store every)
Take out the can from the storage unit, transfer it to each measuring unit, and take out the measured can from each measuring unit and judge the quality of the can based on the measurement result by each measuring unit, and determine the measurement result An empty can size inspection device including a control unit for counting.

In this apparatus, the can is taken out of the storage section by a robot hand controlled by a microcomputer, first supplied to a trim height measuring section, measured in height, and then transferred to a can body thickness measuring section, where the thickness is measured. Is measured. After that, it is further moved to a bottom depth measuring unit, where the depth is measured. These measured values are processed by a computer to judge the quality. However, there is no specific disclosure about the drive control means of the robot hand.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-88305 discloses a can for automatically inspecting the dimension of the neck of a flange can (necking can) in which the opening of the can body is subjected to drawing and flange processing. A neck size inspection device is disclosed.

In this inspection apparatus, a flange height measuring section for measuring a flange height by bringing a measuring element into contact with an upper edge of a flange portion while rotating a can stocker and a can around a robot hand, and causing the chuck to grip the can. A flange width measuring unit that covers the mandrel shaft and makes contact with the edge of the flange to measure the flange width. After suctioning and positioning the bottom of the can, the neck that irradiates the can with light and measures the neck size A part size measuring part and a flange inside diameter measuring part for converting a flange inside diameter by inserting a gauge into the can are arranged clockwise.

The above-mentioned can stocker has a pair of guide plates for accommodating a necking can, and the interval between the guide plates is adjusted according to the length of the can. Further, the guide plate is arranged to be inclined downward toward the robot hand side, and is provided in a plurality of stages vertically so that cans can be sorted for each production lot of the can-making line.

[0010] However, in this apparatus, the movement of the robot hand is simply determined by "selecting one of the can stockers, taking out the necking can from there, and placing it on the table" for flange height measurement (No. (Page 19, lower right column, line 19 to page 6, upper left column, line 1), and then, for measuring the flange width, "Grip the necking can with a chuck and deliver it" (Page 6, upper left column, lines 14 to 15, lines 17) To 18 lines), "The delivery of the can is performed by the robot hand" for neck dimension measurement (pages 12 to 13 in the upper right column on page 6), and "The can is placed on the table by the robot hand for flange inner diameter measurement."("Page 16, upper right column, lines 16-17"),
There is no specific disclosure.

[0011]

The known automatic inspection apparatus described above automates the supply and discharge operations of cans to each inspection section using a robot hand, and also performs computer processing on the measurement results, thereby making this process possible. Inspections that have been manually performed can be automated, which is effective in reducing the number of inspection personnel or unmanned inspections.

However, since the cans to be handled are only trim cans for trim cans and only flange cans for flange cans, inspection of trim cans and inspection of flange cans, which have different inspection items,
With the need to perform measurement at different locations and centralized management of measurement results is desired, it is one of the disadvantages to provide a robot for supplying and discharging empty cans and a computer for data processing separately. In addition, there is a disadvantage in terms of equipment that increases costs.

The above inspection apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 65-883)
No. 05), when measuring a plurality of flange cans with different can heights, it is necessary to adjust the guide width for the can stocker for accommodating the cans each time according to many can height types. At present, it is desired to make the apparatus common and versatile even if the type of can changes, and the above-mentioned apparatus has room for improvement.

Therefore, the trim can and flange can inspection devices are collectively arranged in one place so that one robot can inspect both the trim can and the flange can at one place. If necessary, sort out
If it can be supplied to and discharged from a predetermined inspection device, it becomes extremely efficient.

According to the present invention, in order to meet such a demand, in an automatic empty can inspection apparatus, supply and discharge operations of trim cans and flange cans can be automatically performed without preparing separate robots. The purpose of the present invention is to provide such a device.

Also, the present invention is based on the assumption that most of the commercially available two-piece cans have a diameter of 211 (180, 200, 250, 35).
0,500 ml capacity large diameter can) or 202 diameter (13
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that does not require manual adjustment even if the height of the can changes, with a focus on the small-diameter can having a content of 5,250 ml.

[0017]

Means for Solving the Problems An empty can formed by drawing and ironing is disposed from an empty can storage portion between the storage portion and an empty can discharge portion disposed opposite to the storage portion. An apparatus for supplying and discharging empty cans to an automatic inspection apparatus for empty cans having one robot for supplying a predetermined automatic inspection apparatus and discharging the inspected cans from the automatic inspection apparatus to the empty can discharge section. In the storage portion, a trim can and a flange can are stored in the storage portion, and accordingly, an automatic inspection device for trim cans and an automatic inspection device for flange cans are disposed between the storage portion and the discharge portion, Input means for inputting at least information on the classification of trim cans or flanged cans, inspection item information, and information on the number of stored cans as attribute data of the inspected cans; storage means for storing the attribute data of the inspected cans; Inspection of inspection cans The can detection means for outputting, and the inspection apparatus corresponding to the detection item setting information has an inspection apparatus state monitoring means for monitoring whether it is in a standby state or a measured state, and the robot is in a standby state. At the time, detecting the can wait signal of the automatic inspection device corresponding to the input attribute data,
When issuing an operation command to supply a predetermined can to the automatic inspection device, and receiving a discharge signal of the inspected can from any of the automatic inspection devices, remove the inspected can from the inspection device and discharge it to the discharge unit, An apparatus for supplying and discharging an empty can to an automatic inspection apparatus for empty cans, comprising: a control means for instructing the driving means of the robot to supply and discharge the trim can and the flange can in parallel.

[0018]

According to the present invention, one robot that moves between the empty can storage section and the discharge section takes out the trim can or the flange can from the storage section in response to a command from the control means, and performs a predetermined operation. The inspection cans are supplied to the inspection equipment, and the inspected cans are respectively discharged to the discharge unit, so that the inspection can be centralized and the equipment can be centralized. Since measurement is not performed, waste of measurement time is greatly reduced.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of an empty can supply / discharge device, a trim can, and a flange can automatic inspection device according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an empty can storage section for storing a can to be inspected in an upright state, and a trim can storage conveyor 1a.
And a flange can storage conveyor 1b. 11
Numeral denotes an empty can discharge portion disposed at a position distant from the storage portion 1. Thus, a robot driving device 4 that moves the robot 2 along the robot-specific moving device 3 is provided between the storage unit 1 and the discharge unit 11.

Along the moving device 3, for a trim can, a can body wall thickness inspection device 5, a trim height inspection device 6A,
Bottom depth inspection device 6B is also used for flange cans, flange height inspection device 7A, flange width inspection device 7B,
A bottom pressure inspection device 8 is further provided with a buckling inspection device 9 for inspecting the buckling strength of the trim can or the flange can. In addition, since all of these inspection devices are known automatic devices, they are schematically shown in the drawings, and it is not limited that all of the above inspection devices are used. It is assumed that at least one inspection device is arranged for each.

First, the storage section 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a trim can storage conveyor 1a and a flange can storage conveyor 1.
b is an enlarged plan view in which a part of each is omitted, and FIG. 3 is a left side view in which a part of FIG. 2 is further omitted.

The trim can storage conveyor 1a for storing the trim cans T in an upright state and the flange can storage conveyor 1b for storing the flange cans F in an inverted state are arranged in parallel to the robot driving device 4, and are arranged in parallel. The whole is supported by four leg members 21 erected and fixed on the cabinet 13.

The trim can storage conveyor 1a includes a conveyor frame 22, a wide endless conveyor belt 23, and a belt driving unit 24 below the conveyor frame 22, and the conveyor belt 23 is driven by the robot by the driving of the belt driving unit 24. It is configured to move toward the driving device 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the conveyor frames 22 is stepwise enlarged toward the conveyor 1b on the side (the left side in the drawing) near the drive unit 4 as viewed in a plane. A left horizontal plate 27 having a bent shape and a narrow right horizontal plate 26 on the opposite side (the right side in the drawing) are provided so as to straddle the conveyor belt 23, respectively.

On the upper surface of the right horizontal plate 26, a concave block 28 (for 211 cans) having a width corresponding to the outer diameter of a can manufactured in each manufacturing line (4 lines are set in this example),
28 '(for 202 cans) is fixed and supports the right end (on the drawing) of the partition guide 25. The other left horizontal plate 27
On the upper surface of the stairs, a stopper 29 is set up at the tip of the stairs,
Fixed. This stopper 29 is used as the separation guide 2
5 is attached to the left end.

These partitioning guides 25 divide each storage conveyor into four lanes so that the inspection cans can be stored for each production line, and correspond to the four lines. The length of these lanes only needs to be long enough to accommodate the number of sampling cans per line. For example, six manufacturing machines for drawing, ironing and trimming are installed per line, and trimming is performed. When the number of sampling cans required is six, the length of the lane of the trim can storage conveyor 1a should be long enough to store at least six cans even in a short lane.

The stopper 29 fixed on the left horizontal plate 27 not only supports the separation guide 25, but also moves the can that moves on the conveyor belt 23 with the driving of the belt driving unit 24 at a predetermined position ( In FIG. 2, it functions to stop at T1 to T4). For this purpose, the stopper 29 is provided with an inclined surface 30 that comes into contact with the can body, and the inclined surface 30 faces each lane. The head positions T1 to T4 of the can are defined by the inclined surface 30 and the partition guide 25 facing the inclined surface 30. The head positions T1 to T4 of the cans are set within the operation range of the robot hand described later, that is, at a position convenient for taking out the cans. Further, on the inclined surface 30 of the stopper 29, a can detection sensor 31 for detecting whether or not there is a can at the head position is provided.

On the other hand, the flange can storage conveyor 1b has substantially the same structure as the trim can storage conveyor 1a, but the length of the conveyor is longer than the length of the trim can storage conveyor 1a, and the top positions F1 to F4 of the flange cans. Are different from the positions of the leading positions T4 to T1 of the trim can, and therefore, the planar shape of the horizontal plate 27 is different from that of the horizontal plate 27 in the conveyor 1a. The difference in the length of the conveyor is that the number of sampling cans of flange cans is larger than that of trim cans, and in general, the number of heads of a Necker flanger is usually more than ten, and in accordance with that, each lane can accommodate more than ten cans Because it needed a length. In this example, 12 cans can be stored. Of course, the lengths of these two conveyors may be made longer, but if the lengths of the conveyors are changed, when trim cans T and flange cans F are stored in the respective storage conveyors, mistakes may occur. Help prevent.

The storage conveyors 1a and 1b are
As described later, when the start switch of the operation panel is pressed,
It is configured to be driven for a certain period of time when an inspection completion signal is received from the inspection device.

Next, the robot driving device 4 will be described. The robot dedicated moving device 3 for moving the robot 2 for transporting cans between the storage section 1 and the discharge section 11 is called a slider driven by a servomotor, and is provided between the storage section 1 and the discharge section 11. Long base 40 left and right
(FIG. 1).

The two-dot chain line of the oblong shape shown in FIG. 1 indicates the operating range of the robot hand attached to the tip of the robot 2. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the robot hand 41 is fixed to a metal fitting 43 in which suction disks 42, 42 for suctioning two upper and lower portions of a can body are attached to the tip of the robot 2. These suction plates are provided at intervals that can be used in common even when the can height is different.
Is connected to and controlled by a vacuum source (not shown) via an electromagnetic valve 44 provided in the main body of the camera.

A lifting hook 45 is mounted on the suction board 42 so as to protrude in the same direction as the suction board 42. The hook 45 is connected to the cylindrical reference gauge 20.
(This is a gauge used for zero reset of the inspection devices 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B, and is set in a case between the inspection devices 6B and 7A in FIG. 1). Handle 2 provided on the side of gauge 20
0 'is lifted (FIG. 5).

Accordingly, the robot 2 moves along the robot-specific moving device 3 to move the trim can storage conveyor 1a,
Alternatively, the can at the head position of the flange can conveyor 1b is sucked by the suction disks 42, 42, transported to a predetermined inspection device, and placed in a predetermined location according to the orientation of the can, or The measured can can be taken out of the inspection device and transported to the discharge unit 11 or another inspection device, or the reference gauge 20 can be lifted and transported to a predetermined inspection device.

Next, the discharge section 11 of the can will be described.
The discharge unit 11 is a tray-shaped can holder. The inspected can is subjected to another inspection (for example, measurement of inner and outer surface film thickness, trim edge burrs, impact resistance, outer surface slipping property, damage of the coating film, Inspection of bottom anti-rust paintability, paint adhesion, etc.) to separate each production line. In this example, four lines are allocated to the trim can and the flange can, respectively, in correspondence with the storage unit 1. The robot 2 places the inspected can on the right end of the can holder so as to push the previously placed can (as shown in FIG. 1 by repeating this).

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the empty can supply / discharge device in this embodiment. Reference numeral 50 denotes attribute data of the inspected cans (section information of trim cans or flange cans, inspection item setting information, Input operation panel for inputting information on the number of storage cans, line number information, etc.) 51 is storage means for storing the attribute data input from the input operation panel 50 for each lane of the storage conveyor, 52 is the robot driving device 4 and the storage conveyor Control means for controlling and driving the belt drive unit 24 and the inspection devices 5 to 9, and the can detection sensor 3 of the storage unit 1
1; a state signal from the robot state monitoring means (means for monitoring whether the robot is on standby or in operation) 55; and a monitoring sensor provided on the inspection apparatus corresponding to the attribute data (the inspection apparatus is on standby). Or the state signal of the measured can) is monitored. The attribute data of the inspected can stored in the storage means 51 is fetched from the state signal of 56 to supply and supply the can.
It determines the discharge and outputs a predetermined operation command signal to the robot driving device 4. The control means 52
Has a configuration in which, upon receiving a measured signal from the inspection device, the measured value is read and the measurement result is output to the screen display unit 53 via the storage unit 51 or externally output to the printer 54.

The robot driving device 4 to which the operation command is issued from the control means 52 reads necessary information (space coordinates, speed, etc.) corresponding to the operation command from the robot personal computer (not shown) and moves to the designated coordinates. Carry out empty cans.
This operation command is issued when the can detection sensor 31 is in the "can" state, attribute data is input, and the robot 2 is in a standby state (a state in which nothing is operating). If a "standby" signal is input from the inspection device corresponding to the attribute data input each time, an operation command to supply a predetermined can to the inspection device is issued, and a "measured" signal is similarly output from the predetermined inspection device. If it enters, it is programmed to issue an operation command to take out and discharge the can from the detection device.

Thus, the transfer of cans by the robot 2 is as follows:
It is selected depending on the waiting time of the inspection device at that time, so that the supply and discharge of the trim can to the inspection device for trim can and the supply and discharge of the flange can to the inspection device for flange can are performed in parallel. . That is, if the attribute data of the trim can and the attribute data of the flange can are input so as not to conflict with each other, a plurality of inspection processes can be performed at the same time. Further, even if the input attribute data is mixed, processing can be performed in the order of input, so that trim cans and flange cans can be efficiently processed.

It should be noted that the attribute data input for each conveyor lane is automatically deleted from the storage means 51 when the inspection of the inspection item of the attribute data is completed. Attribute data can be added.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the empty can supply / discharge device, and the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

In step P1, the inspector distinguishes the trim cans and the flange cans from the sampling cans on the storage conveyor, arranges the cans on each lane (by line), and sets the attribute data (line number) for each lane by the manual operation panel 50. ,
Whether the trim can is a flange can, inspection items, number of cans, etc.)
Is input and stored in the storage means 51. Table 1 shows an example of the data input.

[0043]

[Table 1]

In the inspection item setting column of Table 1, for example, “5 → 6”
“A → 6B” indicates that the thickness of the can body wall is first inspected, then the trim height is inspected, and then the bottom depth is inspected. If you want to check the buckling strength as well, "5 → 6A →
6B → 9 ”.

When the start switch on the operation panel is pressed in step P2, the storage conveyors 1a and 1b are driven for a certain period of time, and the robot 2 starts moving along the robot-specific moving device 3 and is moved to the reference position by the lifting hook 45. The gauge 20 is lifted and inserted into the trim height inspection device 6A. After performing zero reset of the inspection device 6A by the reference gauge 20, the robot 2 reads the reference gauge 20 from the inspection device 6A.
Is taken out, inserted into the bottom depth inspection device 6B, and reset to zero again. Then, the gauge 20 is taken out again, and this time, it is inserted into the flange height inspection device 7A.
Take out after resetting to zero. In this way, the flange width inspection device 7B and the bottom pressure inspection device 8 are also reset to zero, respectively, and finally the robot 2 takes out the reference gauge 20 from the inspection device 8 and returns it to the original position.

In step P3, the can detection sensor 31 detects "can be found" at the head position T1 of the lane corresponding to the No. 1 line of the trim can storage conveyor 1a, and the robot-shaped monitoring means 55 It is detected that the state is “standby” (a state in which the can body is to be transported from now on), and the inspection device monitoring sensor 56 causes the can body wall thickness inspection device 5 corresponding to the reserved attribute data to “standby”. Medium ”(waiting for can supply).

Thereafter, "supply" is determined in step P4 by judging whether the can is supplied or discharged. In step 5, predetermined coordinate data is set in the robot driving device 4 and an operation command is output.

The robot 2 receiving the command takes out the leading trim can from the trim can storage conveyor 1a, places the can horizontally on the inspection device 5, and thereafter returns to the old position.
After confirming the operation in step P6, the inspection device 5 is driven to start measurement. Then, in step P7, the robot enters a standby state, and the number of cans does not reach the predetermined number (six cans in this example) (five cans remain), so the operation flow returns to step P3.

Next, in the same manner, in step P3, "there is a can" at the head position F1 of the lane corresponding to the No. 1 line of the flange can storage conveyor 1b, and the state of the robot 2 is "standby". After detecting that the flange height inspection device 7A corresponding to the reserved attribute data is “waiting”, the “supply” of the can is determined in step P4,
In step P5, the leading flange can is taken out and placed on the inspection device 7A in an inverted state. After confirming the operation in Step P6, the inspection device 7A is driven to start measurement. Then, in step P7, the robot 2 is in a standby state, and does not reach the predetermined number of cans (12 cans in this example) (11 cans remain), so the operation flow returns to step P3.

Next, when a "measured" signal is received from the wall thickness inspection device 5 in step P3, a measured value is read from the inspection device 5 by a sequencer (not shown), and the measurement result is stored in the storage means 51. And the storage conveyors 1a and 1b are simultaneously driven for a certain period of time.
Move the second can to the first position. Then, step P
In step P5, the "trim" of the can is determined. In step P5, the inspected trim can is taken out of the inspecting device 5 and transported to the trim height inspecting device 6A according to the attribute data. Step P6
After confirming the operation, the inspection device 6A is driven to start measurement. Then, in step P7, the robot 2 is in a standby state, and since the number of cans has not reached the predetermined number yet, the operation flow returns to step P3.

Subsequently, in Step P3, after detecting that the second trim can has moved to the head position in the lane of the No. 1 line of the trim can storage conveyor 1a, the first trim can is moved to the first position. Like the can, it is supplied to the waiting inspection device 5 to start the measurement, and the robot 2 enters the standby state and returns to step 3 again.

On the other hand, if a "measured" signal is received from the flange height inspection device 7A, the measurement result is output to the outside, and the "discharge" of the can is determined in step P4. A predetermined operation command is output, and the robot 2 takes out the inspected can from the inspection device 7A and sends it to the next flange width inspection device 7B. Step P
After confirming the operation in step 6, the measurement is started, and in step P7, the robot 2 is in a standby state.

After returning to step P3, the second can is conveyed to the lane of the No. 1 line of the flange can storage conveyor 1b, and after detecting "there is a can" at the head position, the second flange can is moved to the first position. In the same manner as in the case of the first can, it is supplied to the flange height inspection device 7A to start measurement. The robot 2 enters a standby state and returns to step P3.

On the other hand, if a "measured" signal is input from the trim height inspection device 6A, the measurement result is output to the outside, and the "discharge" of the can is determined in step P4, and a command is sent to the driving device 4 in step P5. The robot 2 takes out the can from the device 6A and supplies it to the bottom depth inspection device 6B, and starts the measurement in Step P6. Then, the can that has been inspected by the wall thickness inspection device 5 according to a command is supplied to the empty trim height inspection device 6A, and measurement is started. Further, according to another command, the third trim can at the head of the conveyor 1a is supplied to the wall thickness inspection device 5, and the measurement is started. Since the inspected can still remains, the robot 2 is in a standby state again, and returns to step 3 each time.

On the other hand, if a "measured" signal is received from the flange width inspection device 7B, the measurement result is output to the outside, and "discharge" of the can is determined in step P4. The robot 2 outputs a predetermined operation command, and the robot 2 outputs the inspected can (1) from the inspection device 7B.
) And transported to the tray of the discharge unit 11. After confirming discharge in step P6, step P7
Since the number of cans has not been reached, the operation flow returns to step P3.

Then, the flange height inspection can is transferred from the inspection device 7A to the empty flange width inspection device 7B according to the command, and the third can coming to the head position of the conveyor 1b is successively removed. It supplies to the flange height inspection apparatus 7A and performs each measurement. The robot 2 enters a standby state, and returns to Step P3.

On the other hand, for trim cans, step P3
When the "measured" signal is received from the inspection device 6B, the measurement result is output to the outside, the "discharge" of the can is determined in step P4, and the robot driving device 4 is determined in step P5.
And the robot 2 takes out the inspected can, transports it to the tray of the discharge unit 11, and returns to Step P3.

Subsequently, the inspected cans in the inspection devices 6A and 5 are transferred to the inspection devices 6B and 6A, respectively, and the fourth can coming to the head of the conveyor 1a is transferred to the inspection device 5 Then, the robot 2 starts the measurement, and the robot 2 returns to Step P3.

Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated for the fifth and subsequent cans (fourth in the case of a flanged can), and an operation command to the robot driving device 4 is issued by each signal taken in step P3. Each time, the trim can and the flange can are set in parallel, and supply, discharge, and conveyance operations are repeated. Then, if the predetermined number of cans of the No. 1 line is completed in step P7, the attribute data of the No. 1 line is erased, and then the process moves to the No. 2 line, and the inspection work is continued. All the attribute data is deleted. Next, when the system is continued in step P8, the process returns to step P1, and all devices including the robot are in a standby state until the next attribute data is set.

[0060]

According to the present invention, since the inspection items are conventionally different, the inspection of the trim can and the inspection of the flange can, which have been performed at different places, can be performed at the same place in time parallel. In addition, only one robot and one computer for data processing are required, so that the counting of the measurement results is easy and the production cost is low in terms of equipment.

Further, when the cans are stored in the storage section in an upright state, even if the lanes are divided into a plurality of lanes for each production line, complicated guide width adjustment is not required without being affected by the can height, and the multi-product production line is not required. This is extremely advantageous.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted enlarged plan view of a storage unit.

FIG. 3 is a partially omitted left side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 (a) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a suction state of a tip portion of a robot and a can, and (b) is a perspective view of a lifting hook.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a leading end portion of the robot and a lifting state of a reference gauge.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Empty can storage part 2 ... Robot 3 ... Robot exclusive moving device 4 ... Robot driving device 5 ... Can body wall thickness inspection device 6A ... Trim height inspection device 6B ... Bottom depth inspection device 7A ... Flange height inspection device 7B ... Flange width Inspection device 8 ... Bottom pressure resistance inspection device 9 ... Buckling strength inspection device 11 ... Ejection unit 20 ... Reference gauge 31 ... Can detection sensor 41 ... Robot hand 50 ... Input operation panel 51 ... Storage means 52 ... Control means 55 ... Robot state monitoring Means 56 ... Monitoring sensor of inspection device

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An empty can formed by drawing and ironing is disposed between an empty can storage portion and an empty can discharge portion disposed opposite to the storage portion and the storage portion. An empty can supply / discharge device for an empty can automatic inspection device having one robot for supplying a predetermined automatic inspection device and discharging the inspected can from the automatic inspection device to the empty can discharge portion; A trim can and a flange can are housed in the section, and an automatic trim can inspection apparatus and a flange can automatic inspection apparatus are accordingly arranged between the storage section and the discharge section. Input means for inputting flange can classification information, inspection item information, and stored can number information as attribute data of the inspected cans; storage means for storing the attribute data of the inspected cans; Can detection means for detecting the absence of a can And an inspection apparatus corresponding to the detection item setting information, comprising: an inspection apparatus state monitoring unit that monitors whether the apparatus is in a standby state or a measured state, and input when the robot is in a standby state. Detecting a can wait signal of the automatic inspection device corresponding to the attribute data, issuing an operation command to supply a predetermined can to the automatic inspection device, and receiving a discharge signal of the inspected can from any of the automatic inspection devices. Take out the inspected can from the inspection device, discharge it to the discharge section, and supply trim can and flange can in parallel,
Control means for instructing the drive means of the robot to perform an operation of discharging and transporting the empty can supply / discharge device to the automatic empty can inspection apparatus. 2. The empty storage according to claim 1, wherein the storage section is a conveyor having a plurality of lanes which store the cans in an upright state and are divided for each production line, and are driven for a predetermined time in a predetermined state. Empty can supply / discharge device for can inspection equipment.